| 释义 |
con·tour
I. \ˈkänˌtu̇(ə)r, -tu̇ə\ noun
(-s)
Etymology: French, modification of Italian contorno, from contornare to surround, sketch in outline, round off, from Latin com- + tornare to turn in a lathe, from tornus lathe — more at turn
1. : the delimitations of a figure:
a. : the drawn or painted outline of a two-dimensional figure
b. : the periphery of a form seen two-dimensionally
< the contour of a mountain silhouetted against the sky >
c. : shape, form
< the contours of a statue >
< the ominous contours of a ravine >
— usually used in plural; used of any irregularly shaped body or uneven surface or curving line
< the contours of the shoreline >
2. : the individual features or the order or arrangement of features of anything having discernible and usually complex structure — usually used in plural
< the contours of a melody >
< the contours of the plan are beginning to emerge >
< poetry is a discovery of contours and connections — C.S.Kilby >
3.
a. mathematics : a plotted curve : graph
b. : a line or surface at all points of which a certain quantity, otherwise variable, has the same value (as lines of equal elevation on the ground or isothermal surfaces in a heat-conducting solid) : contour line
4. : a sequence of levels of pitch or stress typically extending over several successive words in an utterance
Synonyms: see outline
II. verb
(-ed/-ing/-s)
transitive verb
1.
a. : to draw or shape the contours of
b. : to shape (a thing) to fit the contours of something else
< contour the waist of a jacket >
2.
a. : to construct (as a road) in conformity to a contour
b. : to cultivate (land) along lines connecting points of equal elevation
c. : to provide (as a map) with contour lines
intransitive verb
: to draw or plot a contour
III. adjective
1. : following the contour lines or running furrows or ridges along the contour lines to retard erosion of sloping land by runoff rainwater
< contour plowing >
2. : made to fit the contour of something enclosed or contained
< contour sheet > |